1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an industrial truck, such as a fork lift truck, having a driver's seat that is oriented in the forward-facing direction, at least one screen that is located in the vicinity of the driver's seat and a first camera that is directed toward the rear of the industrial truck. In particular, according to the invention at least one additional camera is provided, directed toward the rear, whereby the images taken with the cameras can be displayed on the screen.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
An industrial truck according to the prior art is described in German Patent No. 198 15 124 A1, for example.
On industrial trucks of the type described, travel in reverse is made easier for the driver by the fact that the area behind the industrial truck is viewed by the camera and displayed on the screen. The driver thereby does not need to turn his head, an action that is necessary on conventional industrial trucks the whole time the truck is traveling in reverse and that places significant stress on the driver's spinal column.
The screens used can be conventional cathode ray tubes or flat screens. It is also possible to use virtual screens, such as a heads-up display or an LCD screen that is integrated into the windshield of the industrial truck.
One problem with industrial trucks of the prior art that are equipped with a camera and screen to facilitate travel in reverse is that the camera cannot view the entire area behind the industrial truck. In particular, the near area, i.e., the area directly behind the industrial truck, is not visible on the monitor screen. Even equipping the camera with an extreme wide-angle lens cannot completely eliminate this problem, because in that case, the image displayed on the screen is severely distorted in the peripheral areas, which means that the driver cannot navigate solely on the basis of the image displayed on the screen.
The object of the invention is therefore to make available an industrial truck that makes a sufficient segment of the image available on the screen when the industrial truck is traveling in reverse.